Cunard Announces Chinese New Year Sale With Inside Fares From $888

Free Upgrades^†, Free Drinks in Grill Suites^‡, $100 Non-Refundable Deposit^{^} and Past Guests

 Receive Free Gratuities*

The luxury ocean liner company, Cunard announced that it will feature enticing promotions on a range

 of cruise itineraries on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria in celebration of Chinese New Year.

From January 26 to January 31, 2017, new voyage bookings will receive:

• Free Upgrades
• Free Drinks in Grill Suites
• $100 Non-Refundable Deposit
• Plus Past Guests Receive Free Gratuities

Itineraries include Transatlantic Crossings, New England & Canada, Caribbean and Mediterranean 

voyages with fares from $888. This promotion requires a $100 non-refundable deposit, which is non-transferable.

Cunard's Chinese New Year Sale highlights iconic Transatlantic, Caribbean and New England & Canada

 voyages on remastered Queen Mary 2. During Transatlantic Crossings, guests embrace the feeling of 

adventure and the luxury of time and space, paired with diverse experiences and the elegance of British

 traditions.

Sale voyages also include a series of 7- to 14-night itineraries aboard Queen Victoria departing from

 Rome, Venice, Athens, Trieste or Southampton.

For more information about the Chinese New Year Sale or to book a voyage, contact your Travel

 Agent at 1-800-728-6273 or visit www.cunard.com.

CunardDefining true excellence at sea with over 176 years of legendary voyages, Cunard is the operator of

 luxury ocean liners Queen Mary 2®, Queen Victoria® and Queen Elizabeth®. Renowned for 

impeccable White Star Service, gourmet dining and world-class entertainment, all three Queens offer

 luxury on a grand scale in Britannia, Britannia Club, Princess Grill and Queens Grill accommodation.

 Cunard is the only line to offer regularly scheduled Transatlantic service and continues the legacy of

 world cruising which it began in 1922.

Awarded 'Best World Cruise Itineraries' and 'Best Trans-Atlantic Itineraries' by Porthole Cruise

 Magazine's 2016 Readers Choice Awards, Cunard is a proud member of World's Leading Cruise

 Lines, a part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the largest cruise vacation

 company in the world. Together Cunard, Carnival Cruise Line, Fathom, Holland America Line, Princess

 Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK) operate 

102 ships visiting over 700 ports around the world and totaling 226,000 lower berths. For more

 information, call Cunard at 1-800-528-6273 or visit www.cunard.com.

Social MediaFacebook: www.facebook.com/cunard 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cunardline
YouTube: www.youtube.com/wearecunard 
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2016 Caribbean Cruises To Check Out

Photo courtesy of Pearl Sea Cruises

The Caribbean is one of the most popular regions to take a cruise, particularly for North American travelers. While many Caribbean cruises follow similar routes, others venture off to lesser-visited ports. These nine cruises offer a different Caribbean cruise experience, with exciting new ships, convenient departures or other highlights that set them apart from the crowd.

Royal Caribbean

The sprawling Oasis of the Seas will begin offering voyages from Port Canaveral beginning in November 2016. There will be five, seven and eight-night cruises alternating between Eastern and Western itineraries. The seven-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary visits Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. With Port Canaveral’s convenient positioning just an hour from Disney World, families can easily combine a trip to Orlando with a cruise on an incredible vessel.

Sea Cloud Cruises

Those who prefer a smaller, traditional ship should consider Sea Cloud Cruises, a company that maintains an intimate cruising experience aboard timeless sailing ships. Starting March 24, 2016, the Sea Cloud II embarks on a lesser-traveled Caribbean route from Bridgetown, Barbados to Man-O-War Bay, Tobago; St. George’s, Grenada; Soufriere, St. Lucia; and three ports of call in St. Vincent and the Grenadines including Union Island, often referred to as "the Tahiti of the West Indies."

Celebrity Summit

In late winter 2016, Celebrity Summit will be sailing a Southern Caribbean itinerary round-trip from San Juan. Fresh off a makeover, the ship will feature the new rooftop terrace for dining and movies on an outdoor screen, as well as the Tuscan Grille, a signature restaurant on other vessels. The cruise includes St. Croix, Martinique, Dominica, St. Kitts and St. Thomas.

Ponant

What better way to explore the French West Indies than on a luxurious French vessel? In Guadeloupe, while mainstream ships call on the city of Pointe-a-Pitre, the Le Ponant visits quiet Deshaies and Les Saintes. On the January 9 departure from Fort de France, (Martinique), the ship also calls in Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua, a historical area away from the major port, as well as Sandy Island, Anguilla, a tiny slice of paradise surrounded by sugary white sand. During the seven-night voyage, Le Ponant overnights in St. Barts and also visits Pigeon Island Beach, St. Lucia for postcard-perfect scenery.

Holland America

Holland America’s 10-day Southern Caribbean cruise on the brand new, MS Koningsdam in November 2016 heads to the ABC Islands, as well as the new port of Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. This cruise also calls in Grand Turk and a private island in the Bahamas, and spends three full days at sea — allowing time to experience the musically-inspired ship. The “Music Walk” features three stages, and a partnership with the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts introduces classically trained artists.

Pearl Sea

During the cooler months, Pearl Sea, a small-ship company, will go to its newest destination: Cuba. The 10-night voyage embarks from (and returns to) Miami, before spending an overnight in the sizzling city of Havana. The Cuban cultural cruise visits several UNESCO World Heritage sites and gives American and international passengers a chance to meet local tradespeople, artists, musicians and historians. Other stops include Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Santiago de Cuba, and Holguin as well as two ecological areas: Alejandro de Humboldt National Park and Maria la Gorda. Cruises are available beginning in March 2016.

Star Clippers

Another tall ship company, Star Clippers, is offering a rare, two-week, Southern Caribbean itinerary that hugs the coast of South America. The Royal Clipper embarks from Bridgetown, Barbados on December 3, 2016, and visits four islands off coastal Venezuela with a sublime setting: Isla Margarita, Testigo Grande, Isla de Coche and La Blanquilla. The ship spends a day in each of the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao), before calling on the Grenadines, Grenada, and St. Lucia. 

Fathom

The new impact travel cruise, Fathom (part of Carnival Corporation) has a weeklong program that includes three full days in the port of Amber Cove, Dominican Republic, to help with sustainable tourism efforts. During this time, passengers will participate in activities to benefit economic development, local education and environmental issues. Travelers may work with women’s cooperatives to improve their standard of living, work with community members to help improve their English skills or organizations to deliver potable water to families. The first Fathom cruise aboard the Adonia begins April 10.

Sail Windjammer

The interest in barefoot cruises on smaller windjammers has been reignited in the Caribbean and Sail Windjammers has a 13-night cruise from Grenada to St. Lucia with a wealth of islands packed into the itinerary. This free-spirited sailing cruise includes places like Mayreau, the smallest inhabited island in the Grenadines, or Tobago Cays, home to a stunning marine park. Cabins are traditional, no frills (but comfortable) and the galley serves up fresh, local cuisines. Sailing dates are available in April 2016.

By AMBER NOLAN,www.travelpulse.com , 

Travelore Tips: Travel Bargains That Aren't.

Be careful: That travel "bargain" just may be a real lemon. Photo by Pavia Rosati.

We're very excited about Fathom contributor Mark Ellwood's new book, Bargain Fever: How to Shop in a Discounted World. He's distilled what he's spent a lifetime learning about shopping all over the world into a lively, informative, and engaging read. What's the quick takeaway? Here are the top ten tips and lessons — acquired the hard way so you can get them the easy way.

I've spent the last two years knee-deep in deals and discounts, researching my new bookBargain Fever: How to Shop in a Discounted World. It's been a travel-heavy trip: I've hopscotched from the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul to a luxury outlet mall outside Tokyo and a small ranch home outside Tampa that could claim to be couponing's spiritual capital. I dedicated one chapter to culling lessons from the industries like travel and real estate that have long operated in an entirely discount-driven model. From that journey, both literal and metaphorical, here are my top ten lessons.

1. Why You're Not Getting an Upgrade
There's one tiny detail often overlooked about the halcyon days of aviation: The reason airlines were able to lavish treats and service on passengers was that prices were set centrally by the government. So the only point of differentiation among airlines came in how hot the food — or the stewardesses — were.

2. Why You Have to Pay to Get Drunk on a Plane
Regulations reached beyond price controls, too: Early on in the era of commercial flying, there was a two-drink minimum on board. Of course, airline ingenuity worked around this, as one veteran trolley dolley told me. "We had a sixteen-ounce lowball for the first and a little carafe as big as a glass for the second. So it was two glasses, but about eight drinks," she admitted.

3. Those Antiques? They Were Made Yesterday
Go thirsty when you go to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Every shopkeeper will ply you with sweet minty tea. And don't be surprised to hear more English, German, and Russian than Turkish: That wonderful, centuries-old Aladdin's Cave of counterfeits and treasures essentially exists to cater to tourists now.

4. The Only Real Way to Save on Hotel Rooms
Book every hotel room via Tingo.com, the service which automatically refunds the difference in cost if anyone books an identical room on the same night for a lower cost. It's never failed me.

5. Sorry, You're Not a JetsetterFlash sales are for fools. The best hotels have realized that working with flash sale sites backfires: It brings in clientele that nickel and dime over everything, and the price slashing isn't off set by extra spending. Besides, you can wrangle better rates by making a phone call and negotiating instead of through a flash sale.

6. Compare, Compare, Compare
Never accept the first price you're offered for a flight. Six weeks ago, when I was booking a ticket from JFK to LHR, I checked costs of a seat on Delta in a Safari browser window. Simultaneously, the exact same seat was $200 cheaper on Virgin Atlantic, the flight's codeshare partner. Lesson learned.

7. A Bargain in Tokyo Isn't a Bargain in Miami
Remember that a trip to an outlet mall in Japan will be very frustrating to most Caucasians. Firstly, since the retail prices of designer labels there are already inflated, the markdown essentially brings them back in line with normal prices back home. Secondly, since Japanese people are markedly more petite than even sample size Westerns (like me), don't expect much of the stock to even fit. I spent the week after that day trip on a diet.

8. You'll Never Guess Where the Best Hotel Discounts Are Hiding
The best way to score a bargain on a hotel room is a canny workaround. Sam's Club and Costco sell hotel gift cards at a discount from time to time — Hyatt, for example, has done it in the past. $100 vouchers will be offered for $80-$85, which is an instant 15 to 20 percent saving on your next stay.

9. Germans Don't Do Coupons
Coupons were as illegal as cocaine in Germany until 2001, a vestige of an anti-Semitic law around pricing enacted by the Nazis to stop larger Jewish-owned department stores from undercutting Aryan mom-and-pop shops.

10. They're Not Very Friendly SkiesAirline executives put the crew in crude. Iconic American Airlines CEO Bob Crandall blasted a Senate committee mulling deregulation of air fares with a tirade that made the air bluer than an Andrew Dice Clay concert. "You f**king academic eggheads! You don't know sh*t. You can't deregulate this industry. You're going to wreck it. You don't know a g**damn thing!"

Read more on Fathom: The Fine Art of Haggling in Marrakech, 5-Star Vacation for 2-Star Prices

Fathom reinvents the travel website by mixing inspiring stories and practical destination guides with the best travel resources and products. Follow Fathom on Twitter, tell us about your travels on Facebook, and sign up for our weekly wanderlusty newsletter.

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